


A Malfoy Jedi

by elenapadmeamidala



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-05-01 23:54:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19187779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elenapadmeamidala/pseuds/elenapadmeamidala
Summary: The Malfoy have twins but one is acting strangely. Not like her age, with an intelligence and wisdom far beyond her years. A terrible accident happens and the family has to live with the severe consequences. Will she follow the given path of her family or will she choose another? Possibly even away from her planet? We shall see.





	1. Chapter 1

It was New Year’s eve in an old large and handsome manor surrounded by elaborate gardens which would have made the former kings of Versailles blush in envy, in the middle of large dark woods in Wiltshire. The gardens were comprised by an intricate Victorian maze containing a magnificent fountain in the middle, a small lake partly surrounded by old thick oak trees, a rose garden with a small white pavilion in between and several English garden fields. Each section of the vast gardens was separated by large green hedges. As it was New Year’s Eve nature seemed to have remembered, that it should be winter and within several hours the gardens were transformed into a beautiful wintery landscape with snow covering everything. The only path not covered in snow was the large gravel driveway leading towards the manor house whose windows shown like diamonds through the thick, slow snowfall. The driveway was illuminated by countless white flowing candles in the form of snowflakes. Inside the manor busy house elves were buzzing around for last minute preparations before the arrival of the guests who were invited to the annual Malfoy Ball to celebrate the Beginning of the New Year. The hostess Narcissa Malfoy was known for her lavish Balls, tastes and creativity as people tended to talk for month about them.

But at this very moment the hostess was close to panicking because of her stubborn daughter. The guests were due to arrive any minute and her son had just told them that Cassandra, his twin sister had decided that she would ditch the ball this year and unfortunately she was unable to find her. Lucius was not in his best of moods after he had heard that.

She had first looked for her in her room, but had only detected her daughter’s newly bought, very expensive pink dress shredded to pieces. Apparently when she had said she hated the colour she had meant it. Which girl did not like the colour pink? Thankfully she had been able to mend it with a few swishes of her wand. The girl was also not in the kitchens which she loved very much. Something that neither Narcissa nor Lucius could understand. Malfoys did never go to the kitchen. It was the workplace of the house elves who adored her and it seemed that she did the same.  She hoped that she would find the strong willed little girl in the vast library which was a small maze on its own, but the little girl of five years already knew every inch of it. She could not blame her daughter for finding refuge in the library, but to her shock the little girl had been able to read at age three. Lucius personal house elf Dobby had apparently taught her. Lucius, not believing that his daughter was able to read had randomly pulled books out of the library and looked for passages for her to read and she had been able to do it perfectly. Another house elf Dilly had taught her how to write. How the house elves were even able to read and write was beyond her. The Black house elves had never been able to do this. Her husband however seemed to prefer their son Draco over his daughter, but Narcissa knew him well enough to know that he had no idea how to handle a girl as there have not been any siblings for generations of Malfoys and his daughter was already quite strange, even for a magical child. There had always been a son, never a girl and he was the first Malfoy in a very long time who had both. Unfortunately Cassandra had long given up getting her father’s attention and found refuge in the library. But now was not the time to hide in the library. There, in the armchair near the lit fireplace she could spot her blond daughter cuddled contently in between the armrests in a green blanket engrossed in a thick book. It looked as if she would become a Rawenclaw one day widening the rift towards her father. She even tended to correct the other woman in Narcissa’s Tea Circle, when they mentioned wrong dates.

“You are supposed to be ready for greeting the guests in the entrance hall!” Narcissa scolded her daughter who jumped at her harsh tone.

“I am not going!” she answered folding her arms to get her obdurate refusal across. “There will be too many people, I don’t want to know about and I know that something bad is going to happen tonight.”

“Nothing bad is going to happen, Cassandra.” Narcissa said sitting down on the left cushy armrest and stroking her daughter’s fine hair.

“It’s New Year’s eve. Everyone will have a good time. Pansy, Astoria and Daphne will be here in a few minutes. “Her daughter rolled her eyes at her mentioning the three girls. “Don’t you want to play with them?”.   Cassandra shook her head at that.

But she saw that no matter what she said for trying to convince her daughter she would remain stubborn.  With the book on her lap and her arms crossed she stubbornly looked into the fire. _Is that Latin?_  Narcissa thought surprised.

 “No. I don’t like them. They are stupid and can’t even read yet.”

Chuckling Narcissa argued for one last time:”Normal schooling begins for children at age six, darling. Your brother started a year earlier because he was jealous about your tutoring.” Patting her daughter, who rolled her eyes again at the mentioning of her ten minutes elder brother, reassuringly on the shoulder she stood up again. “Come on. Let’s get you ready.”

But her daughter seemed to disappear further in the armchair, if that was even possible. “I don’t want to go. Please. Don’t make me mother! There are too many people and father seems to favour the dark ones.” Narcissa’s eyes widened at her surprise. Her daughter was a sharp one. How did she know that his friends were Deatheaters who had been able to avoid Askaban? Had she overheard them somewhere?

“Please. Something terrible is going to happen. I just know it. I can’t explain it. Please mother. Don’t make me do this.” her daughter repeated again with a wavering voice.

“Cassandra Persephone Malfoy!” the snarling voice of Lucius came from the dark entry of the library before her father stepped into the light. “You have two minutes to get out of the library, to get ready for the ball and to get down to the entry hall. Otherwise you will be very sorry.”

Cassandra’s heart was beating faster. Her father was a terrifying man and the very image of her cold hearted grandfather. He had never beaten her or used his cane, but he looked so much like her grandfather, who had no qualms about using his. She remembered the day her father had found out about her grandfather beating “some sense into her”. The anger and magic between them had been palatable. Especially, as grandfather had called her father a weakling. She knew her father would never hurt her like that, but her fear of him remained. But why could they not understand that something terrible was about to happen? She had had dreams repeatedly telling her of pain surrounded by ballroom dance music and her feeling was that it was about to happen today. Dobby had called them visions, but when she had mentioned it to her parents for the first time she had been told that they were just dreams. Apparently they had forgotten what she had told them. She could not go! But how could she persuade her stubborn parents? Unfortunately she was contrary to her brother a very healthy child and had tried everything the days before to get sick. She had swum in the freezing lake for a few minutes and dragged herself back to the manor with clattering teeth, had eaten several garlic sprouts and had slept with her window open at night, only to find it closed in the morning. And she had not gotten sick. Simulating would not help, but she would try.

“I am not feeling well.” she said pulling the blanket closer to her chin. Technically it wasn’t a lie. She was feeling horrible at dreading that something was about to happen.  Her mother checked her front with her right hand and shook her head. “You are really trying everything to avoid going down to the ball. No fever Lucius.”

“Screams, Pain and Waltz music are going to happen today. I know it!” Cassandra screamed to get her point across. “Please. I can’t go!” Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.  Narcissa was close to give in she could feel it, even her father was hesitating, but caught himself again.

“Stop being so melodramatic and get ready! Or you will regret it.” he hissed taking his wand out of his cane and with one flick the blanket vanished and the book landed in his pale hand to the dismay of his protesting daughter.

“Dilly!” he called and a small, grey house elf with big floppy ears appeared dutifully beside the two parents. “Get my daughter ready as fast as you can and bring her down to the entrance hall. All her orders to you are void for the moment.” he ordered.

“Yes, Master.” Dilly squeaked taking her young mistress hand aparating her back to her room.

The distressed house elf mumbling “Sorry, Mistress.” just snapped her fingers twice and Cassandra was in her new pink dress. She abhorred that colour and could not understand why her parents insisted on buying her dresses in this colour. Her mother had repaired it apparently or was it one of the house elves. The little elf snapped her fingers twice more and Cassandra was ready. Could she order Dilly to get her away? No. Her father was the head of the house and his order would override hers. Why prepare for a ball if house elves could get one ready so fast.

As she blinked again she stood in the ballroom in front of her father and gulped. There were several people already in the Ballroom. Her abhorred grandparents were one of the people present. _One more reason to leave the ball immediately_ she thought.

Time passed the family greeted every one of the arriving guests personally, pleasantries were exchanged but to Cassandra it was just dumb and extremely boring talk. But her parents just loved to stand on ceremony. Her time would be better spent reading the Aeneid further. They had interrupted her when Aeneas had finally arrived in his destined country Italy.  She wanted to know how the story would continue. Instead she had to spend listening to grown-ups talk about the weather, the decorations, dresses, business and other boring stuff. She hated it. Especially as she sensed that quite some of their guests could not stand her parents at all, but acted as if they did. Beside her Draco seemed to be equally bored, but he was better at hiding it standing in front of her mother.  Her gaze strayed often to the groups of talking people in the room and around the opulent buffet and started to ignore the guests until she felt her father’s big right hand tapping on her shoulder to remind her to behave properly. There were so many people in the large room but for her it still felt as if she would suffocate. She could feel every single one of them, her brother standing next to her and her parents behind her. Her father felt strangely similar to some of the guests and all of those were people who made her neck hairs standing straight. They were trouble. Some felt foul and Cassandra was nauseated at their presence. All she wanted to do was to grab some chocolate tarts before Grabbe and Goyle, Draco’s best friends, could get their sticky fingers on them and get back to the safety of the library and away from the danger of the ominous feeling that something terrible would happen. She started to squirm again and pondered how she could slip away unnoticed under her father’s watchful gaze.

Finally her father addressed the guests in the ballroom and welcomed them in his humble home. Cassandra snorted at that. She had seen a few manors, but none came even close to theirs. He asked everyone to enjoy themselves and greet the New Year in a few hours. After his speech Cassandra pulled at her father’s robes and carefully asked:

“Father. We greeted the guests. You had your speech. Now can I be excused? Please?” She tried using her puppy eyes look which always worked on her mother but unfortunately he was not amused at her persistence.

“Cassandra I do not know what’s gotten into you, but you will stay in this room. Narcissa, make her play with some of the other girls.” he ordered his wife looking after Draco who was chasing after Grabbe and Goyle. Narcissa, dutifully took her hand and led her towards a group of small girls and Cassandra groaned. Pansy, Daphne and Astoria. All dressed in hideous variations of pink.

“The room is so beautiful!” Pansy gushed at the white, silver and golden arrangements in the room. Daphne and Astoria nodded affirming to a shrugging Cassandra who wrecked her brain how to get rid of them. From the ceiling hung hundreds of icicles changing colours in a heartbeat, white, lilac, golden and silver garlands interwoven with different kinds of evergreens hung squarely under the icicles. The tablecloths were golden with intricate patterns and silver plates and cutlery.  Finally she got an idea and smirked dangerously.

“Do you want to play a game?” she asked innocently with a higher pitched voice than normal. The other girls nodded happily.

“We could play aurors and thieves! The boys could play the aurors and us the beautiful thieves they have to catch.” Daphne suggested, but Cassandra shook her head.

“There’s no way father will allow that with that many guests in the room. Remember what happened last time. What about hide and seek. You hide and I will search for you. If I haven’t found you until midnight you’ll get a chocolate cake each to take home.”

“But mother does not let me eat chocolate cake. She says it can make me fat.” Pansy whined.

“She doesn’t need to know about it.” Cassandra suggested whispering and Pansy smiled happily and nodded.

“Alright I count to hundred and you hide.” she said, covered her eyes and started counting while she felt the other girls speed away. After counting no further than twenty she stooped, looked around, put her hands behind her back and ambled towards the buffet while hoping her parents would not spot her without the other girls. She finally made it to the chocolate tarts, grabbed some and used the guests as covers to slip past her parents out of the ballroom towards her sanctuary.

Hours passed and Lucius enjoyed being the centre of the attention, showing off his superior dancing skills with his beautiful wife. Once in a while he looked for his children and while he could spot Draco making shenanigans with his two other companions and playing with the Nott boy, the girls seemed to have disappeared completely. Have they gone to Cassandra’s room, or had his daughter played mischief on them? He feared the latter as she had been quite adamant to get away from the ball.

“Lucius have you seen Cassandra?” Narcissa whispered coming over to him from talking to the minister’s wife and he shook his head.

“Dobby.” he whispered calling discreetly for his personal house elf who appeared the next second. “Do you know where the girls are?”  The grey little elf nodded hiding a grin.

“Miss Pansy is hiding in a cupboard in the kitchen, Miss Daphne is hidden behind the curtains in the parlour, Miss Storia is hiding under Misses Cassandra’s bed.”

“And where is my daughter?” Lucius asked with deep voice which had a dangerous edge to it. Dobby bit his lower lip and squirmed under his master’s gaze. “Tell me.”

“Miss Cassandra is in the library reading.” Dobby stated while Narcissa snorted amused and Lucius Malfoy sighed and shook his head and coughed to hide his grin. Maybe his daughter was Slytherin material after all. Nevertheless, Midnight was approaching fast and Cassandra would not escape greeting the New Year with them in the Ballroom.

“I go and fetch her” Lucius whispered into Narcissa’s ear. He should be angry at her for disobeying him, but she was a child after all and maybe he had been a bit too harsh with her earlier. “Dobby, get the other girls to their parents.” he ordered.

* * *

 

 

_hoc dicens ferrum aduerso sub pectore condit_

_feruidus; ast illi soluuntur frigore membra_

_uitaque cum gemitu fugit indignata sub umbras._

 

Cassandra gasped horrified at what she had read and checked the fragile binding for further pages. But there weren’t any missing! How could this be? This story could not end like this! Aeneas, the hero had killed Turnus, his opponent, after all the heroic deeds that he had done! This was a stark contrast to the phrase _parcere subiectis et debellare superbos_ from the sixth book. The Olympic gods could not approve of this! There had to be more to this.

“Why did you leave the ball girl?” her grandfather snarled while stepping into the soft light cast by coming from the fireplace. Cassandra shrieked in panic and snapped her book closed. Her grandfather looked like an older version of her father, having the same aristocratic features, his hair blond turning white but he felt foul, like the some of the other people in the ballroom. He was pure evil for her and for whatever reason he hated her.

Her gaze darted around in the room for an escape route. She was alone in the library with her scary grandfather and nobody would hear her. Would he teach her a lesson by using the cruciatus as he had often threatened to do?  “I was…” she began but her voice was barely audible because of her sudden dry throat.

“You were doing what?” her grandfather took another step and Cassandra felt danger. Every fiber in her body was alert and she seemed to be aware of it in a very strange way. He took one more step and she was about to jump out of the armchair when she heard a different voice and breathed in relieved. She had never been so glad to hear her father’s voice.

“What is going on in here?” he asked his father and while positioning himself protectively between his daughter and his father.

“She disobeyed your orders, son and left the ball.” her grandfather informed her father. “She needs to be thought a lesson for her shameful behaviour. “

“The only one punishing my daughter for her behaviour is me or my wife, father.” her father spat straightening his stance angrily. “Not you. Her education is **not** your duty”.

Turning to Cassandra he took her right hand with his left and led her out of the dark library, before his father could come back with some snarky remark about how he was not man enough to lead his own family or the Malfoy estate.

“I’m sorry father. But the ball was so boring and the people really unpleasant.” Cassandra apologized.

“You disobeyed my orders, Cassandra and whether you like it or not, but you will greet the New Year with us in the Ballroom. It’s your punishment.” her father answered drily dragging her through the Ballroom door towards his wife, who seemed to be looking for their son. There was a crowd of people, but they were not dancing. What had he missed?  Suddenly Cassandra’s heart stopped a beat and panic set in again startling her father who wondered why she had stopped. The feeling of suffocation was surrounding her again, she could hear a very familiar sounding waltz and she stopped in her tracks. It was about to happen! She tried to wriggle free of her father’s grasp, with gathering tears in eyes. But he would not let go as he looked confused at her.

“No. It’s happening, it’s happening now.” she whispered trying desperately pulling towards the entry.

Finally realized what was hidden behind the crowed as he spotted different kinds of lights popping up and curses shouted. Someone was duelling in his Ballroom! Without letting go of his daughter he pressed himself past the witches and wizards in the crowd and spotted a very drunken Nott Sr. and an equally drunken Goyle Sr. hurling curses at each other. All the front-row spectators had their wands in their hands to conjure basic shielding charms but nobody had the sense of stopping the two.  They probably expected him as the host to break up their drunken brawl unworthy of purebloods.

He finally let go of his daughter who seemed to have problems breathing, was ghostly pale and looked close to fainting and took out his wand as the curses seemed to get darker. Cassandra was about to dart away from danger when she suddenly stopped in her tracks again and looked around. Looking between the two duellists he waited for the opportune moment to go in between the fighting without hurting himself or someone from the crowed. He shot a canon imitating spell to get both of their intension, but only people from the crowd jumped; Nott and Goyle Sr. did not react to this. That the two duellists where still able to cast spells in their inhibited states was a miracle. Finally he decided that he had no other choice and called: “Incarcerus!” and shot chains at them, but unfortunately one of the two duellists was able to cast one more curse while being pinned down by heavy chains, which proved to be severe.

Cassandra was feeling the overwhelming dread; there was pressure in her chest keeping her from breathing properly. Her pulse racing in throat and she heard the familiar Waltz oddly distorted but still being played, yet it seemed as if the volume had intensified tenfold and she wanted to run out of danger as soon as possible but something was holding her back. The people were moving in unnatural slowness.  She knew she could not leave but she wanted to. Pain would be felt by someone soon. She saw chains from her father’s wand shot at the two men and she spotted her brother standing happily in the front row, but there was something moving towards him. Something her father had missed.  Draco had no shield! Why did nobody shield him?!  She saw the ray of the curse slowly moving towards her brother and suddenly she felt an unfamiliar tug at her navel and she was standing right next to her brother and pushed him out of the way.

A heartbeat later something hit her straight in the face and she was knocked down. Every fibre in her body was alight in pain and fire as the fire was racing up and down her body and the feeling as if thousand knives where stabbing her repeatedly, causing her to spasm uncontrollably and she just wanted the pain to stop. From far away she could hear an angry roar, shocked gasps and the mockingly slow waltz. Her eyes were also on fire as if they were boiling, her sight became fussy, blackness was closing in on her from the edges of her gaze and she knew no more.

 

* * *

 

 

Far away on a planet consisting of one single city with many different levels, the little green Grandmaster of the Jedi Order was violently roused from his meditation in the room of thousand fountains. He had heard the desperate mental cry of a Force sensitive child and felt her horrible amount of pain. This was disturbing. Through his high Midi-chlorean count he was able to sense many Jedi many systems away, but feeling Younglings he had never met before was considerably harder, yet not impossible.

 

* * *

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

It was close to the early morning hours and ghostly silence was slowly engulfing the dark manor covered in thick layers of fresh white snow. The now vacant ballroom which had become a terrible mess with countless used trays of food, stained table cloths, brown spew, torn colourful garlands and even a small red spot of his daughter’s blood on the floor she had been hit with a curse, had been sealed by a flock of aurors of the ministry, which had come automatically with the hectic call for a healer from St. Mungos. Lucius hated having them in the house as his old family had quite a collection of old and dark objects which could prove embarrassing if found, but unfortunately his “friends” had made a mess by duelling and therefore his daughter had been caught in the middle. The presence of the interrogating and nosy aurors had prevented him from staying with his daughter being examined by the healer. He should have been there.

Narcissa was probably also berating herself for not being in the ballroom because she had gone to get the stupid Parkinson girl, which had blatantly refused to answer to a house elf. Cassandra had to be alright. He refused to think about any other scenario and what was even more astonishing was the fact that she had used accidental magic to protect her brother, without splintering herself. The picture of her spasming body, her anguished screaming, her teeth clattering while she was lying on the ground surrounded by hundreds of curious spectators who had not interfered, was forever ingrained in his memory. He had been to distasteful spectacles of the Deatheaters before where people had been tortured for fun, but this time it was his daughter, who had been in peril and only Merlin knew what she had been hit with.

Each heavy step he took towards his daughter’s room resounded dully from the white polished marbled floor. He vaguely registered the barely audible whispers of his ancestors as he stopped in front of the dark brown, polished door with golden handle which was the door to his daughter’s large room and put his pale hand on the handle. In which condition would he find her? Had the healer been able to heal her? Had he found out which dark spell had hit her? Taking a deep, steadying breath he carefully pulled the handle down, opened the door and went in. The dark room with normally white shining walls, was illuminated by a small green lamp beside the large, black oak bed, which cast the room in an green and orange shine.  His daughter’s room was contrary to her brother’s very tidy. All her toys of various sizes (countless teddy bears, foxes, cats, dogs, snakes, badgers, ravens and a large female lion) where neatly placed in one small corner, while large parts of her room where already filled with smartly organized shelves and stakes of books on her desk, which was still too big for her. She could spent hours sitting on piles of pillows, her feet on the desk while reading something.  As one would have expected to find dolls in a girl’s room there were none in her collection of toys as she was scared of them. It was one of those irrational fears that everyone could have. Some were afraid of spiders. Cassandra was terrified of porcelain dolls and clowns for some reason. He had tried to give her one very expensive one, for one of her birthdays but she had refused to take it, because she was terrified of them. The guests at the party had found it unusual, but very cute. She had told him that she could swear that their cold “fish” eyes were following her around, especially in the dark. 

He looked at the centre of the bed and saw his pale daughter sandwiched between her mother, who had transformed her elegant evening dress in a more casual black one and Draco who wore a green pyjama with slithering silver snakes while sleeping contently. Narcissa’s normally beautiful pale face was red and puffy and he could still see the silvery lines which must have been the trails of her fallen tears. Cassandra’s head was resting on her left arm as she was stroking her face tenderly. Lucius heart sunk. He had never seen his wife like this. Not even when she had been forced to break off any further contact with her favourite sister who had eloped with a muggle born.

“How bad is it?” he asked with trembling voice. Narcissa shook her head and new tears started to gather in her eyes and she whispered hoarsely:  “She is blind, Lucius, will feel the after effects of the Cruciatus Curse probably for months and has bitten her tongue which is why she has spat blood.”

Lucius sat down on the edge of the bed and put his hand in front of his mouth to stop the bile that threatened to come up.  “But the Cruciatus, does not blind people.” he whispered in an afterthought.

“No, but the healer found an earlier placed curse on her.” her voice changed to an accusing tone which made his neck hair straighten. His wife was powerful and due to her Black heritage knew probably just as many dark curses as the Malfoys.

“What curse?” he asked confused.

“The ‘Miseriam maximam amplificatio’ curse.” Narcissa answered gravely while stroking her daughter’s cheek and pulling her closer to her as if to protect her.  A new wave of tears was escaping her eyes.

Lucius gasped. While he had not seen this curse before he had read about it. It had been frequently used during the Middle Ages to curse muggles or magical opponents and was designed to amplify even the smallest misfortune or misery to drive people to eventually commit suicide, because of all the misery they were experiencing. But combined with the Cruciatus curse, he was lucky that his daughter was still alive; if she had stayed sane would be another matter. Would she wake up only to be as mad as the Longbottoms? He hoped that she still was herself.

Annoyingly curious to the point where he often ran out of answers to her questions, but he still preferred her to be like this than resembling a mental zombie like the aurors Bellatrix had tortured.  But who had cursed her? Why had she been cursed? She was a young, innocent child. Maybe a tad bit strange, but certainly unique with her thirst for knowledge.  He often had problems connecting with her which is why he spent more time with Draco as he knew how to handle him. With her sight gone how should she read her books?  Although she was not old enough to get a personal house elf, she would need one now.  “We will find a way to get her sight back” Lucius whispered determined and if he had to go to the ends of the world.  But Narcissa shook her head to indicate that she did not believe that they could restore it.

“Who do you think has cursed her?” Narcissa asked looking murderous again, but Lucius had no idea. They were wealthy and influential. The list of enemies was very long and in the Wizarding World grudges could be held for centuries. Well he had one specific person in mind, but would his father really risk the life of one of his own flesh and blood. But on the other hand, he hated his granddaughter for some reason. He had even suggested giving her away as there had never been a female in the Malfoy line and that she was according to him a bad omen. He had phrased it to give her away, but what he had really meant was something else. Lucius had seen the truth in his eyes.  

Or was it just to spite him, because he had decided to marry a different Black. Bellatrix should have been his intended according to his father, but he had forced his father’s hand by asking for Narcissa’s hand in marriage during a Yule Ball in front of the entire wizarding world. The Yule Ball should have been the festivity where they would officially have announced the engagement, but Lucius had never wanted to marry the grazy bint. There had been something regal, beautiful and mysterious about Narcissa which had attracted him to her. Unlike other Pureblooded women she had been outspoken about some things and not quite fit the profile of a potential perfect docile wife. Narcissa had been caught by surprise, but Lucius had felt that this had been the only right decision. His father had been angry and shouted all kinds of obscenities at him in his study and threatened that he would do something to him after he had refused to resolve his engagement with Narcissa, but he had not heeded the warning. Did his beloved daughter have to pay the price now?

“It better not be my father.” Lucius growled with blazing eyes looking at his wife whose eyes now mirrored his. “But it was most likely him. The curse was invented by one of my ancestors after all.”

“He must pay for this!” Narcissa hissed angrily but was stopped before she could hiss more and her gaze was drawn to the hurt girl. Cassandra, shivering slightly, moaned faintly and turned from her position on her back to her side towards her mother’s warm body and cuddled herself to her mother while inhaling her scent deeply. Narcissa held her closer to herself with her left arm while her other hand continued to lovingly pet her cheek.

Lucius, holding his cane, containing his wand was watching his sleeping daughter from one of the armchairs in her room next to her desk and the shelves and was starting his diligent scheming to bring his father behind bars for what he had done to his grandchild. But he had to be careful. His father had been the one to enter him into the inner circles of Voldemort and therefore enough incriminating evidence against him. Probably, just as much as Lucius had on him. Perhaps he could blame the supposed Imperius he had been under until Voldemort’s demise on his father. “He will pay for this.” Lucius confirmed. “But we have to be careful. He is very sly and we can’t act like revengeful, little Gryffindors.”

* * *

 

She heard faint voices. Dulled voices like hearing someone while being submerged under water, but as she focused on them they slowly became clearer. One was her father’s deep and calming voice and the other was her mother’s. They where whispering with hushed voices to each other, but her pounding head, feeling as if it would split into two any at any second prevented her from understanding their words. There was another person in the room which was breathing evenly. Was Draco sleeping in her room again? Had there been another thunderstorm? Why where her parents in her room? She slowly became aware that she was lying in her soft, comfy bed as she could feel the familiar fabric of her blanket, the familiar smell of her oaken bed and the familiar soothing smell of her mother’s perfume close to her nose. Her head was not lying on her soft cushion, but on something pulsating, while her front was touching something soft and warm. Her left hand was also lying on something which slowly moved up and down, while she was cuddled towards a body. She knew that scent. She was cuddling with her mother? Why? She could not remember when she had last cuddled with her and she would have liked to do so very much.

Especially, after her grandfather had been mean to her again. She wanted to open her eyes, to make herself known to her parents, but all her limps where too heavy and burned as if she had bad muscle cramps after a heavy workout. For the moment she decided that it would pass in time and that she could stay like this for some more minutes before she would try again. Her entire family was in her room together without the need to represent an image and she liked that. But why were they in her room? She could not remember, therefore she wrecked her mind what the last thing she was able to remember was. New Year’s Eve? No midnight. The waltz and the pain! The horrible pain which did not stop! She tensed, shuddered and moaned remembering it. So much pain, so helpless and not control of her body! Was it over now? The voices stopped and then she could hear her mother’s tender voice:”Cassandra, darling? Are you awake?” She wanted to answer, but no words escaped her lips, just a faint moan, she tried to nod and although it felt like too much effort, she must have managed it somehow.

“Lucius, quick, she is awake.” her mother whispered to her father who if she interpreted the sounds correctly jumped up from a chair and rushed to her bedside. She could sense him hovering over her mother and her. Then there was his large cool hand on the left side of her face. “Cassandra? Can you speak?” he asked hoarsely and she felt his concern. She tried to open her eyes and speak, but no sound escaped her lips and her eye lids just would not open, no matter how hard she tried.

“She needs to take the yellow potion from the nightstand.” her mother stated while she could hear her father take it and handing it to her mother who tipped on her chin and pulled her lips apart a bit and slowly dipped the potion in her mouth while Cassandra swallowed it heavily with much effort. It tasted horrible like chalk mixed with muddy brown water. Thanks to her sometimes mean brother she knew how muddy water tasted. But as she bravely swallowed it the burning in her limps became fainter and the feeling in her extremities slowly returned.  She wiggled her fingers to try if they worked and then her toes and they did! Merlin, was she glad that her mother had that potion. Everything would be fine!

“Does it feel better, darling?” her mother asked handing her father the now empty potions bottle back.

“Yes, mother.” Cassandra croaked with hoarse voice. “Please never force me to go to another ball.” she begged in remembrance of last night’s happenings. “I mean. I told you that something was going to happen, but you did not believe me. Why did you not believe me?” a tear escaped her eyes in remembrance. They had never believed her when she had told them of things to come.

“We won’t.” her father answered gravely and she opened her eyes to look at him, but something was feeling wrong. She could have sworn that she had her eyelids open, but for some reason she could not see anything. She blinked several times as if to clear it from any dirt obstructing her vision, but the effect remained the same.  There was only darkness. She quickly rubbed her eyes and tried to look again, but nothing happened. Maybe her parents had forgotten to light the room, but she could feel the warmth of the faint glow of her green lamp on her nightstand on her face. So why was she not seeing anything but darkness as she was still lying next to her mother? She kept her eyelids open and moved her gaze from where she knew one corner should be to the other, but the darkness remained the same. No, wait. It became lighter towards the direction of where her desk should be?

She could still not see anything, but it was as if there was something emitting soothing light in the darkness. Focusing on the soothing light it became clearer and turned into the form of a lightening cube with ornamented lines. She knew those lines and the cube! But the light seemed to come from within it. It somehow seemed that she was seeing it, but not with her eyes. Was that even possible? She remembered having the mysterious golden, metal box her father had originally gifted her brother with, hidden in the desk. Draco had been completely annoyed with his inability to open it and had wanted to throw it into the dustbin, but Cassandra had saved it from this fate as she had felt drawn to it. She had not been able to explain it, but it had felt as if it belonged to her and not her brother and he had no right to get rid of it. She was convinced that it would open when the time was right, but she had no idea why she thought it. She just knew it. She stretched towards the direction where she knew that her balcony window was situated and accidently brushed her brother, who started to stir. She could not see the window, but the glowing outlines of her little sapling from her garden’s favourite tree. This particular tree was centuries old and so thick that you would need at least twenty people to stand around it.

According to family legend it had already been there when they had settled on these grounds. No ancestor had been able to cut down the tree and some of its samplings could be found in the forests surrounding the property. One day she had found one of its samplings and taken it to her room and planted it in a pot. And it grew to a small little tree which stood outside on the balcony. The sampling had always felt so alive and she had even talked to it. It was soothing to her to know that even though she could not visually see the sampling, she still could see its glow in the darkness. But why could she do it and why did it have the same white glow like the cube? Were they connected?

“Cassandra?” she heard her brother murmur while he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “You’re awake! Are you ok?” But she ignored him although she could sense that he was curious.

“My eyes are open are open, aren’t they?” she asked already knowing the answer.

“Yes, dear. They are open.” her mother whispered, hugging her closer while kissing her front.

 “I’m blind. Am I not?” she asked with wavering voice as the severity of her situation came crushing down to her. How should she do anything without anyone breathing down her neck, how should she read or learn? She would need people to help her with anything. Her father would not allow her to go to Hogwarts with her eyesight gone. She would always be confined to Malfoy Manor!

“Yes, darling.” her mother sniffed and sounded as if she was crying with her as she could feel her own tears rolling down her cheeks. 

“We will get your sight back.” her father said determined, but was scolded by his now blind daughter. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, father.”  He took a deep breath and vowed to prove her wrong. He would find a way to make her see again.

“Is Draco alright?” she asked turning on her back and using her left hand to search for her brother who took her hand and squeezed it gently as if to say thank you.

“Yes.” He is her father answered. “Thanks to you. You were very brave and this was your first use of accidental magic. I’m proud of you.”

Cassandra’s anger flared up slightly. This had definitely not been her first time to use magic, but her parents had never seen those outbursts or when they had seen them then they had credited to Draco. The heir of the house Malfoy.

“Never thought I would hear the word brave in a Slytherin household.” she pouted. “and it wasn’t the first time I used magic but you have never seen or acknowledged it.”

Lucius sighing wondered how much books of their library she had read already. She did not sound like a five year old and he had not seen her doing wandless magic ever before. Could she speak the truth? Apparition was very difficult, but she had accidently managed it without splintering herself.

“Does this mean Draco owes me a life debt?” she asked remembering reading about the concept in one of the books.

“A what?” Narcissa asked shocked.  Where did she know about this concept.

“You know. When you safe a person’s life then this person ows you her life and has to repay that debt somehow.” Cassandra said.

“Those practises fell out of favour centuries ago.” Lucius pulse started racing hoping that Cassandra had not become crazy through the accident.

“Well, As I can’t read someone has to read for me.” Cassandra said and Draco could read aloud while I memorize the things he says and he also improves his reading. So it’s a win-win situation.

Narcissa also took a relieved breath as she had went along the same way of thinking as Lucius.

“I can read perfectly.” Draco protested. “I just don’t want to read your boring books.”

“You will get your personal house elf, Cassandra. There is no need to drag Draco in this.” Lucius defended his son.

“If she gets one, I want one too.” Draco said jealously.

Narcissa silently chuckled and looked sheepishly at her husband. Both were technically not old enough to have a personal house elf, but her daughter would need one and to prevent jealousy Draco would also get one, but they would have to order them to keep the sweets away as both of their children were sweet teeth.

“Alright you both will get one.” Lucius confirmed raising his hands soothingly while Draco screamed loudly “Juhu!” which had his sister cringe because it sounded louder than usual. Her mother seeing this patted her reassuringly.

“But you have to be careful who you select, father.”  she said. “Eleven house elves recently had offspring and sixteen are expecting. So you can’t take anyone of them because it could strain their health. It’s remarkable what they are capable of doing anyway.”

Lucius could not believe what he heard. His daughter took pity on their servants? It was their duty to perform as told and not to worry about them. He had never even considered why they always had house elves as they were part of the manor. That those things were procreating was not something he would like to imagine. “They are servants and they are required to do what we are telling him to do.” he lectured her.  “I know father, but do you know the names or even the faces of each individual house elf working in the manor?” she asked him looking towards the place where she could sense her father.

“Of course I do.” he answered but Narcissa and Draco were following the conversation with interest. Cassandra was on to something again.

“Really, father? Then please tell me the names of the house elves tending to our vast gardens?” she asked him, while it seemed that she had rendered her father speechless again as he opened his mouth to answer and closed it again.

“Those are thirty names father.” she answered.  “Thirty?” her father asked. He had never seen that many house elves in the house or the gardens.

“You can’t just pick any house elf, because each one has a gift at what he or she is particularly good at. We normally only come in contact with the highest ranking house elves, who are capable of doing multiple things. The personal house elves are usually from those. It’s a very delicate structure.” Cassandra explained.

“There is a hierarchy?” Narcissa asked stunned. Her former household had only had five house elves and there had never been any inkling of a hierarchy.

“Yes, there needs to be because we pretty much have an army of house elves, who are doing a wonderful job.” Cassandra answered.  “We do not associate with servants, Cassandra.” her father bellowed, but as she shrieked softened his his tone again.

“You do have two in mind?” Lucius asked processing the information. In a way the Malfoy’s could be considered royalty in the wizarding world, so the amount of house elves on the property could be true.

“Yes, Trixi for me and Luci for Draco.” she answered. “Both are exceptional house elves, intelligent, caring and industrious.”

“Trixi and Luci?” Narcissa snorted. “Who named those two?”

“I did, mother.” Cassandra said. “They had no names before I met them in the kitchens and they liked it.”

“Did you give one of them father’s name?” Draco asked snickering at his father’s murderous look when he figured out that Luci could indeed stand for Lucius.

“No, that would have been stupid.” Cassandra asked shaking her head while snickering. “Imagine, mother calling ‘Lucius’ and father and the house elf appearing at the same time. Trixi is short for Beatrice and Luci for Lucifer.”

Narcissa could not halt her laughter and let it burst out, while Lucius unsuccessfully fought a grin.

Apparently she was still sane, but he had to teach her how to properly associate with house elves. They were their servants and nothing more.

“Alright. So be it.” he answered making Trixi and Luci the personal house elves of his two children, while he vowed to help his daughter get his sight back, even if it meant that he would inscribe himself to become a healer in St. Mungos. He had to start somewhere.

 

* * *

 

 

The little, green Grandmaster was calmly sitting in a meditational niche in the rooms of thousand fountains. Normally this was one of his favourite places to meditate, but the pain the force sensitive child had emitted in the Force had been terrible. It seemed that she had accidently led some of the pain trickle into the Force to lessen her pain. But he had no idea what had caused that pain and it caused him some unrest.

“You seem troubled, Master Yoda.” his former apprentice and now second in command of the Order Master Windu stated while sitting himself next to him with his legs crossed.

“A tremor in the Force, have I felt.” he answered. “A child strong in the Force it was.”

“Do you know why there was a tremor in the Force?” he asked curiously.

“In pain, she was. Terrible pain. Cry out she did with the Force.” Yoda answered to a now frowning Master.

“Do you know where she is?” he asked.

“That, I do not.” the Grandmaster answered sadly, emphasizing his feeling with the lowering of his large green ears.

 


	3. Chapter 3

On early June with uncharacteristically hot weather a little blonde girl, which just had turned six trotted along the large green hedges with raspberry and blackberry canes hidden among them in order to get away from yet another party. Although she loved the fact that her parents tried to make her and Draco as happy as possible, she could not stand that many people at one narrow place and overhearing her father’s conversation with grandfather had further worsened her mood. After her terrible accident her father had tried to get her to the best healers and specialists for her problem, but none was able to help her. He had, much to the astonishment of the healers of St. Mungos tried to inscribe himself to study to become a healer, but so far he had not achieved much, except making her blond brother extremely jealous of her. And even he had been told that money would not help him in getting one of the very coveted places to study to become a healer.

 And her twin brother even accused her of faking her blindness as she was able to walk perfectly without any help. It had confused her family immensely when she had walked as securely as if she were able to see, but Cassandra could not explain it. She was not able to see where she was going. Rather she was sensing it. One specialist had called this phenomenon blind sight.  And at first she had been delighted to hear that this phenomenon had a name, but soon she had been able to sense more and the theory of her having blind sight did not fit anymore.  

Now, her hair prickled when her dangerous and foul sensing grandparents came near her or one of father’s “dear” friends, which all felt cold and rotten somehow. And there was a hollow faint coldness on their left arms. Even her father had one of those, but she could not explain what that was. It just felt unnatural and wrong and she even shied away from it, when he tried to hug her with his left hand.

Hearing the buzzing of the busy bees in copper beech hedges and crickets, hiding in the long dry grass, the loud chirping of the summer birds enjoying the sunshine in the tree’s vast canopy, she longed to finally reach her destination at the opposite side of the Malfoy property, her sanctuary. The horde of children celebrating with her and her brother on their birthday had completely overwhelmed her. She had been able to feel every single emotion at once and had not been able to stop it: The overwhelming hatred of her grandparents, her brother’s happiness and jealousy, her mother’s constant worrying, and her father’s constant disdain for his parents, his shame and guilt when he looked at her and the pride in his son. The other children’s emotions were curious, angry, jealous, friendly, pitying, but she could not understand how her parents did not realize that most of the parents of these children hated or disdained her parents in one way or the other. They even disdained her and Draco, but minced their words to appear pleasant or to get an advantage in the future. She had not been able to stay among these people who surrounded themselves with that much falsehood. She had even overheard some of those people whisper terrible things and she had just wanted to get away.

Pulling out her most precious item from her small handbag she finally located the huge white oak tree who greeted her with pulsating white energy. It was almost as if she was able to see again as the blinding white light from the tree and its saplings greeted her. Her entire body was buzzing with energy as she sat down cross-legged on the ground at the base of its protecting strong roots and leaned on them. They felt safe, protective of her and as she closed her eyes she could mentally see the blinding light rush through her and she felt it rushing over her body, caressing her lovingly as if to reassure her that everything would be fine. She loved to sit at the giant tree’s base as it made her feel as if she was part of something bigger, something that helped her calm with the difficult situation. And another advantage was that her nasty grandparents were unable to get into this part of the gardens as it seemed that they were pushed back from the trees. Rationally Cassandra thought that this was not possible, but she could swear that these trees had a mind of their own.

Relishing the soft embrace of the oak tree’s roots she suddenly had the urge to put the cube, she had saved from her brother’s wrath, on the floor. No as she concentrated on her urge she could feel the white energy surrounding her and the tree nudge her to do this. It nudged her to close her eyes and concentrate on the cube. No words had been directed towards her and yet she understood what the light was telling her to do? Was that possible? Where did this energy come from? Was it magic? Untamed magic? She hadn’t dared to tell her family about this as it just seemed like something that they shouldn’t know about. She closed her eyes again and concentrated her mind on the golden cube lying in front of her. There she could see it lying surrounded by the white light and yet it was shining slightly blue.  Was that a blue crystal inside? No! The cube had a metallic golden colour and blue glass inlays which displayed the white energy. Was that a click? There was another one. What was happening? And another one. As she pictured the cube in her mind she noticed that the edges of the corners had turned and the cube was now hovering a few centimetres above the ground. The edges expanded away from the cube and in her mind she viewed the appearance of a woman. She was slender, had two strong horns on her head which turned into two long striped head tails running past her face and down her body and stopped shortly over her knees. As she was slightly tilting her head, Cassandra spotted a third head tail in the back of her head.  She had never heard of a species like that before and she was speaking in a language she was unable to understand. But as foreign as it sounded it was music to hear ears. It felt like a promise of something that was yet to come.

_There is no emotion, there is peace._

_There is no ignorance, there is knowledge._

_There is no passion, there is serenity._

_There is no chaos, there is harmony._

_There is no death, there is the Force._

She gasped. Although she could not understand the language, she somehow was able to understand the female. But how was this possible and what did it mean? She had no idea, but felt that this phrase, poem or mantra had some significance. But what did it mean. Everyone had emotions and those could not be stopped. Or could they? Did her grandparents have other emotions than those dark ones? Her grandfather felt joy hurting her, but luckily he had not been able to get to her since her “accident” How should there be peace for her when she was able to feel every single emotion as she was unable to block them out , although she really wanted to.

The part with ignorance was simple because ignorance could be met with knowledge and she had already found out that her parent’s circle of friends and her parents herself were ignorant towards certain topics. Especially muggle-borns. Everything they were saying about Muggle- borns seemed entirely wrong and when she questioned their believes about them having dirty blood they soon started to talk in circles without having any obvious knowledge at all. Which in the end resulted in them ordering her to stop asking these questions.  But she could not stop those questions as her personal house elf borrowed books from the local Muggle library or from her aunt Andromeda and read them to her at night, without her parent’s knowledge. Her aunt had been delighted when she had contacted her with Trixie’s help. Those books were certainly more fascinating, than some of the etiquette books she was forced to listen to lately. But how should she gain valuable knowledge, when she could not decide for herself which books she would like to read. And her parents had terrible taste in books. Her idea of getting in contact with her aunt, her parents despised so much certainly helped in gaining knowledge about other views and she swore to never let her parents find out about it. It had been a stroke of genius when she had been bored to death by yet another ridiculous rule of pureblood etiquette and had decided on a whim to write to her aunt with Trixie’s help to hear her part of the story why her parents had broken any contact with her.

Was passion a bad thing? Her aunt was passionate about the equality of all wizards and witches in the Wizarding world: Muggle-borns, Halfbloods and Purebloods, male and female and to her astonishment other genders. But that was still a bit too much above her head. But perhaps she would be able to understand it better in a few years time, as her aunt had suggested. Cassandra was passionate about reading her books to gain knowledge or did it mean that kind of passion that her grandfather was displaying. His passion for the dark Arts was certainly destructive and he had even pulled her father into this terrifying passion. So should she meet him with serenity? But how could she be serene when she was terrified of him. He was after her for some reason. He had hurt her severely in the past and was probably even responsible for her current state. Her mother was passionate about being a wonderful mother, but Cassandra felt that her mother was missing something and that she wanted more, but she could not explain what it was.

The next sentence did not make any sense to her. Chaos and Harmony? It reminded her of Ying and Yang, but was that idea similar? Force? What was the Force? Wait! Was the Force the blinding white light? The pulsating light, which felt so alive, so like a strong current or river of light , like the one she was currently sitting in. She needed to dwell on this poem, which sounded more like a mantra for some time. Maybe then she could try to make sense out of it.  There had to be more to it than it seemed. Maybe it was a riddle?  The white flow of energy was washing over her again and gasping at the overpowering sensation Cassandra lost sight of her cube and the horned female. She felt being pulled into the white light , there were shapes and shades off people of all ages, speaking in different tongues, voices  passing her, jubilant children, stars, and an instrumental song playing in the background, but it resounded in her head. Calling her to come, but she did not know where to go. She followed the song until in changed into soft water splashing which reminded her of delicate fountains and as she focused on it her mental picture took on the shape of a high glass dome and in this glass dome were delicate trees similar to those she was sitting at the base at, but not as thick. In between them she spotted the contours of fountains. Not just one. Fountains everywhere and yet they seemed to fit into the artificial landscape perfectly and she had to admit it gave her a feeling of serenity. She could feel some unmoving presences sitting under the trees. Some had normal shapes other looked entirely foreign to her and yet there was a familiarity to them that she could not explain. Were they like her? Was it possible that she wasn’t a freak like her grandfather never got tired to remind her of?  She felt drawn to two particular shades sitting next to each other. One was small and it almost looked like the shape of a house elf, but that could not be. Could it? The second one looked like a man with a bald head, but she could not be sure. Their body language suggested them being friends or having the same level of authority. Although she secretly tried to treat their house elves equally, they sometimes were afraid of her. All except Dobby, who seemed to adore her? This smaller shade could not be a house elf, but maybe a related species?           

The large room was peaceful and she could certainly see herself revisiting it if possible, but was it real or was it just a dream. She could also have a seizure in her temporal lobe right now without knowing. That would certainly explain her pleasant, yet strange dream or vision. 

“Not a dream, this is youngling.” she heard a raspy old voice and jumped trying to identify the source of it. It was spoken in a different language, but could understand the meaning.

 _Merlin, I’m going crazy_.  She told herself, but heard that old wise voice chuckle and she decided that she liked that sound.

“If this is not a dream, then where am I?” she asked the disembodied voice, yet it could not answer as she heard someone calling her name from far away. It was so far away that it should not matter, but unfortunately the white light seemed to have another idea. _Cassandra, Cassandra, wake up._

Someone was touching her shoulder, squeezing it gently. But she didn’t want to leave this place. Here it was peaceful and safe. The manor was dark, cold and danger lurked in every corner. She felt herself being pulled back towards her body. Had she left her body? If yes, then how was that possible?

She snapped back into reality and could feel her parents kneeling by her side. Her father’s left hand was still on her shoulder and she shrugged it off. It was his hand with the coldness on it. She did not like it.

“What were you thinking to leave the party without telling anyone?” her mother admonished her, but she could feel her relief at finding her. “Not even Trixie was able to locate you.”

“Then how did you find me?” she asked, but sensing her father’s two Irish wolfhounds Caligula and Nero she knew the answer. Especially as they were waiting for a sign from her father that they could come near her be petted by her. Both were vicious dogs, but in her presence they usually turned into cuddly lapdogs who forgot how to properly behave. Even though they were not allowed into the beds her father had caught them cuddling with her when she had had nightmares and the dogs seemed to be more protective of her since the accident.

“The dogs did. You are grounded for the next month.” her father told her angrily but Cassandra would not stand for it.

 “But the company was quite unpleasant, father.” she told him with what she hoped was an apologetic look.  “I told you that I didn’t want to go to the party, because I don’t like those people.” she answered.

“But you didn’t care anyway. I don’t mind Draco having his lavish birthday party, but I can’t stand that many people at once.” she explained.

“But Pansy was happy to see you.” her mother started, but was interrupted by her daughter. “No, Pansy was eager to get her hands an some chocolate cake, before her mother would drag her home and make her vomit again.”

She heard her father stifling a snort and her mother gasp.

“It’s late. You need to go to bed.” her father told her and she could feel him scratch his left hand as it was itching him.

“Do you have something on your left arm? Why does your left arm itch, father?” she asked curious and heard her mother gasp again and she could hear her father’s breath hitch.

“Why do you think that there is something on my left arm?” he enquired, but there was a slight quaver in his voice. .

“Most of the other people at the party also had something cold and dark on their left hand, but they felt foul and dangerous.  Just like grandfather. I know that you also have something similar on your left arm, but you do not feel the same as those people here today.“ she explained.

“You could feel the dark Mark?” her mother asked fearful. Why was she afraid?

“Is that what it is?” Cassandra asked. “What is the dark mark? And why does it feel so cold and dark?”

“That… That’ s a story for another time.” her father stuttered uncharacteristically.

“Which means that you won’t tell me” Cassandra stated dejectedly.   “Well, I won’t get away from here until you are answering some of my questions and I can tell that the dark Mark irritates you in this part of the gardens, father.” she told them while getting her now closed cube into her hands stunning her parents. It flew directly into her hands.  

“Is that Draco’s cube?” her father asked her.

“It used to be his.” she stressed “He tossed it into the bins, because he was unable to open it although he had no right to do so.” she told him but he interjected.  “I gave this to Draco when he was younger. It is his.”

“Why? Because he is the heir of the house? He lost the right to it when he tossed it into the bin. I, on the other hand have been able to open it and I will not give it back to him.” she told him angrily.

“Really?” he asked unbelievingly. His daughter became stranger every day. She sounded so knowledgeable and he had to pinch himself to remind him that she was only six years old and somehow she seemed to better fit the description of a stubborn teenager.

“Why don’t you show us?” her mother suggested and Cassandra hoped that she would be able to repeat it again. Would her father take the cube away when he saw that the female was not human? She would not let that happen. The cube was her way of learning. Her gateway to whatever was out there. She would be stuck in the manor forever thanks to her condition, so this was the only way to experience other things.  But there had to be a way to learn that language. She felt that she needed to learn it. So she had to keep the cube. No matter what.  

She leaned back against the roots, closed her eyes and focused on the cube again. Yet nothing happened. Several heartbeats passed and Cassandra felt her parents get impatient.  She thought about how to open it, dove mentally back into the light, gasping as she felt it washing over her. She felt the cube shooting up into the air until it hovered at her parent’s eye level. She could sense their astonishment and her curiosity when she could hear the familiar clicking again which indicated that the edges of the cube where expanding again. Her father’s curiosity turned into anger when he realized that the figure appearing was definitely not entirely human. Her mother became worried again and Cassandra’s hair was prickling.  

_There is no emotion, there is peace. there is no ignorance, there is knowledge. there is no passion, there is serenity, there is no chaos, there is harmony. there is no death, there is the Force._

Her father was close to taking the cube away as he felt angry at himself for exposing her to something so foreign. The cube closed itself again and Cassandra quickly tossed it in her small pouch to save it from her father as only she would be able to open it. It was too bad for him that he had gifted her such a bag.

“Cassandra. I want you to give me that cube.” her father ordered her, but she only stubbornly shook her head.

“You can’t always have what you want.” she shot back angrily as she remembered the second reason why she had fled from the party.  “And I don’t want to be used as a bargaining chip for grandfather’s and your stupid schemes.”  She could felt her father breaking into cold sweat as he nervously glanced at his wife.

“Lucius, what is she talking about?” her mother asked him hoarsely.

“I do not know.” he gulped and Cassandra snorted unladylike.  

“With the ‘accident’ I lost my worth according to Grandfather and that I should not have survived it. He said that now I’m just ‘a waste of space’ that our family is never getting rid of.” Cassandra said sadly and she felt a tear escape her eyes.

“That is not true!” her mother tried to calm her, but Cassandra was not finished. “But father silkily told him that I will still get enough suitors just because of my name.”

“You said what?!” her mother hissed towards her father.

She could feel her mother’s fury rising and her father scratched his left hand a little bit stronger now.

“I.. I… needed to defend her against father. Who knows what he… what he…” her father stopped himself clearly not stating the fact in front of his daughter. “You are not worthless, Cassandra.” he tried to appease both Cassandra and his wife.  “You are a beautiful, bright young girl, who just happened to have a terrible accident.”

“That’s not what the other familys are saying.” she informed him and confused her parents.  “According to some of your stupid, foul dark friends my only worth as a female ‘ pureblood’ “she spat the word,  “is nothing more than me a potential broodmare. Their words not mine.” 

“Who said that?” her father asked neutrally, but she could feel her mother’s simmering anger.

“I don’t know. Some of your dark friends you prefer so much. For the record, they are not your friends. Most of them hate or despise you, but they play nice in order to potentially get their hands on some of your money later. Their children are the same. ”

“We don’t need friends.” her father told her. “We are the ones with power and they are the ones who are gravitating towards it. This is an arrangement that is working to our benefit and we all have to do our duty. When the time comes, even you. This is how it has been done and will continue to be done. ”

“Lucius, she is still too young to talk about these things.” Narcissa calmly reminded him, but Cassandra could sense her anger towards her husband.

“Just because something has been done over a long period of time, does not mean that it is right.” she protested. “And I’m telling you now that I will never marry anyone of your friends or their brain dead sons.”

“This is not the time to talk about these things.” her father tried to get out of it again and her sense prickled and told her that he had lost feeling in his left hand and was close to panicking. There was a certain chill in the air which indicated that night had fallen already.

“No, there is never time to actually talk. You’ll just decide something over my head without telling me and you have no right to do so.” she admonished him.

“I’m your father, Cassandra. I have every right.” he protested angrily.

“Not when it concerns my life, father. Some decisions are mine and mine alone. ”

 

 

* * *

 

 

The big grandfather clock in the vast parlour struck midnight. The wooden logs in the fireplace were cackling happily, but the blond man sitting in his armchair, surrounded by his two loyal pet dogs, was deep in thought. He had no idea what to do anymore. None of the so-called experts, had been able to help his daughter. Draco had become jealous at her as he had spent more time with her since her accident, but he wanted to help her. She had coped better than he had expected, but her strange insight in some things scared him. She seemed to know and understand more than she should and she already talked like someone much older than her age. Today’s talk had certainly been one of the strangest of all. When had she heard his conversation with his father? She had been standing at the opposite side of the tent when his father had started it. She should not have heard about it. How did she know that his “friends” carried the dark mark. Why did he feel different than the other’s? What precisely did she feel? Their magical aura? Or their magical core? He had no idea, but it scared him. Draco was easy to handle as he was almost like him at that age and very easily excitable. How had she been able to open the cube when her brother had not. He had bought it in Diagon Alley. The vendor had told him that according to legend only the gifted were able to open it. He had assumed then that the vendor had meant magic, but what if he had actually meant something else. Draco was magically gifted. There was no doubt in that, but maybe Cassandra really had an additional gift.

The place under the tree seemed to have become her favourite place and Lucius was always reminded of what happened at the very same spot a few years ago which had probably resulted in the reception of Draco and Cassandra. As his parents were unable to enter this part, which was the oldest part of their gardens, Lucius had taken Narcissa there for a pick nick after their wedding as his parents had done everything to prevent them from getting together because Narcissa had been required to conceive a child within a year or their marriage would have been dissolved again and he would have been forced to marry the other crazed Black sister.  His hand had prickled just as much at that time, but it had been bearable. Today he had shortly lost the feeling in his hand but he could not explain why. How should he handle his daughter? She challenged his believes daily now and he had no answers. What had started her interest in these things? Why could she not accept tradition as it was, like other pure-blooded children?

He had no intention of promising her to anyone of his colleagues. Especially as he could imagine what awful things they were already planning for their daughter. She would not be able to attend Hogwarts although she already tried to stir the conversation in that direction sometimes. It seemed that she wanted to go to that school, but how should that be possible. She would need to be tutored separately. Why was friendship so important to her? The other children should have been enough. But apparently they weren’t.

“Lucius, we need to talk about Cassandra.” came his beautiful wife’s voice from the door and looking at her he knew that he would have to explain himself to her. His wife was not one to be trifled with.

“Can I offer you some tea?” he tried to evade the inevitable talk, but she just sat down gently in the armchair at the opposite side of the fireplace and ignored his attempt at stalling.

He barely noted that his two loyal dogs took one gaze towards his wife and as if through some silent sign they jumped up and hastily fled the room as if sensing the explosive situation.

“What were you talking about with your father?” she asked with dangerously low voice and he gulped and nervously took another sip of his drink.

“He reminded me that she has a duty to perform in the future and that it would be best if she would already get acquainted with her future husband as soon as possible.” He replied.

“She is just a little girl! She has no duty!” she bellowed angrily.

“But she is the firstborn.” Lucius hastily added and knew it could complicate things even though Draco had been made the heir of the house. “Technically, according to Wizarding Law she could contest Draco’s claim to the title of heir of house Malfoy and father wants to prevent that.”

“So, what’s the problem of splitting the inheritance in half?” Narcissa asked him. “Even with half of the Malfoy fortune her future would be secure.”

“But, that’s not how things are done.” Lucius protested. “Our fortune has never been split.”

“Is fortune worth more to you than the life of your daughter?!” Narcissa asked him sharply as her grip on her wand became stronger.

“No, of course not.” Lucius defended himself. “But …”

“But nothing!” Narcissa interrupted him. “I will not allow you to force a marriage on her or Draco. How many generations must go through that painful process again, before they can finally decide for themselves. How many more unhappy marriages have those generations go through before someone has the gut to change anything? Lucius, we’ve been lucky to be married to each other, but must I remind you that you were to be married to my sister instead of me.”

Lucius shuddered at the reminder, but he could not get one sentence out of his mind.

“Are you unhappy to be married to me?” he asked with trembling voice. His strong wife was his beacon of light in his home.

She sighed. “I’m not unhappy to be married to you, love.” She smiled at him tenderly, “but being Lady Malfoy is more than tiring than it should be: Your snarling dragon of a mother is constantly breathing down my neck, criticising how I raise our children, disapproving how I furnished our part of the manor, berating how I plan, prepare and host all our functions, your troll of a father is constantly endangering and intimidating our daughter, one of my sisters is in Azkaban, the other is married to a muggle-born and my parents are both dead. It gets pretty lonely, here.” She told him hoarsely as if she was holding back tears. Lucius stoked his chin thoughtfully. He had not known how hard it was for his wife. Yes, the tension between his parents and Narcissa had been rather strong, but he had never known how bad it had been.

“But your weekly tea circles?” he enquired. “Are they not to your liking?”

Narcissa scoffed while wiping away a wayward tear. “They used to be fun yes, but the topics are very predictable and repetitive, and Cassandra was right those women are so dull and they constantly grate on my nerves. I’m done being the docile little imbecile trying to please everyone else”

Lucius eyebrow rose in admiration and quickly took another sip of his fire whiskey and relished in the burning bitterness, it caused him as it rushed down his throat and warmed his stomach with it’s high percentage.  His wife’s last declaration would cause quite a stir, but what was it that she wanted.

“Well, my love what is it that you want then?” he enquired emphasizing the word you.

Narcissa seemed to gather herself and neatly folded her hands. “I want to study to become a healer. You know that I already had an internship before we spoke our vows and was ready to start in St. Mungos healer training. I already spoke with my former tutor and they are willing to let me start with the new curriculum next September.” She informed him and Lucius chaw dropped. Why had they not thought about it before. He had completely forgotten that Narcissa had wanted to become a healer. He mused that he must have been too preoccupied lately that he could have forgotten such an important detail of their live.

“I want to do something meaningful. Something our daughter could possibly benefit from.” She implored him, and Lucius nodded. He had forced not only his father’s hand but also Narcissa’s. So, he was owed this to her. 


	4. Chapter 4

Cassandra’s heart was bursting with happiness as she trailed along her father and her brother holding her mother’s soft hand. Her mother was now working in St. Mungos and they used her free hour in between shifts to go shopping together. They had flooed into the Leaky Cauldron, which had smelled funny for her. It was a mixture of several beverages, sweat, perfumes, cleaners and dirt. But for her it was just different. Her family seemed to see it a bit differently as she could sense that her father stepped carefully to avoid any dirty spots. The portal to Diagon Alley opened and Cassandra suddenly gasped, which caused her mother’s grip to tighten. Dozens of impressions where rushing towards her awareness. She could sense hundreds of people cramped into the narrow space, each felt completely different, dozens of animals were huddling between thousands of feet while trying not to get trampled. Countless owls were swooping back and forth trying to look for their recipients. But the strangest thing was that she could swear that she could feel the different currents of magic swirling around the people.

“Cassandra?” her mother’s voice came from the right side. Cassandra took a deep breath and mentally recited the, to her, now familiar mantra which she thought to be able to pronounce almost identical to the female she had learned it from. _There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force._ She accepted that she could all sense these things but imagined holding the impressions for a second and then forward them into the light, that she could always feel to be with her now and she could know feel that she would be able to cope with the noise streaming into her. 

“Cassandra?” her mother prodded again. “What is it?”

“Too much input. But it’s fine now.” She answered stepping forward.

“Are you sure?” her mother asked. “If you are unwell, then we can go home.” She suggested but Cassandra shook her head vehemently. No, she wanted to be here. Everywhere was better than alone in the manor with her creepy grandparents. The blond family pushed through the current of people and Draco pressed towards one shop and Cassandra rolled her eyes when she realized that he wanted another broom as there was apparently a newer model now.

“Not now, Draco.” Their father admonished him, and her brother seemed to take ages to let go on. They went on and Cassandra heard her father angrily murmured something about street vendors being allowed into Diagon Alley now. They passed several of them until Cassandra stopped in her tracks as a strange feeling was washing over her. She could not explain it, but it felt familiar and she could swear that she heard a strange, yet barely audible beautiful song somewhere, but she could not discern where it came from.

“Do you hear that?” she asked mesmerized trying to find the source.

“Hear what?” Her mother asked bowing down to her.

“The singing.” Cassandra whispered enthralled. It almost felt like the music was calling out to her and she felt the need to find it’s origin. The tune felt familiar and almost begged her to follow it.

“I don’t hear singing.” Revealed her mother with a worried quaver in her voice.

“But it’s right there.” The little girl claimed pulling her mother determined into the direction she felt herself pulled by a familiar urge which she associated with the white light.

“Cassandra, we will lose your father and Draco.” Her mother protested trying to pull her into another direction, but her daughter was very determined, and she tried to fasten her grip on the small hand as she felt her hold slipping.

But it was no use. She bumped into an elderly wrinkly wizard, who crumbled angrily at her, but she ignored him as her heart started to constrict in worry. She desperately tried to find her daughter while she was tackled left and right by passer-bys as she turned in all directions to find her.

“Cassandra!” she called out loudly, but the little girl had vanished. She berated herself for even taken her with them to do the shopping. “Cassandra!” she cried desperately again pushing towards the direction she had last seen her, but she could not spot her. Her mind went into overdrive as it imagined what horrible things could befall her little sunshine. She clutched her heart and cried out for her daughter again but to no avail.

“Narcissa?” Lucius and Draco must have realized that they weren’t with them any longer and must have turned back in order to find them again. “What happened?” he asked her.

“I … she…” Narcissa stuttered terrified for her daughter. “She apparently heard a melody and dragged me towards it, but I couldn’t hear anything. Then I lost her grip and lost her. Oh, Merlin I lost her!” She cried gasping, putting her right hand over her mouth.”

Her husband’s breath accelerated too as he looked desperately around and gripped Draco ‘s hand faster, who complained about that. “Ouch, father that hurts.” But he ignored his protesting.

Lucius stared at Narcissa who seemed completely lost, wringed his neck to spot his young daughter somewhere, but even he was unsuccessful. His heart raced as if it was trying to crawl out of his chest. What if his daughter had fallen down and was currently trampled to death by the massive crowd?

Meanwhile Cassandra barely registered that she had let go of her mother’s hand as she evaded the individuals of the massive crowed as she side stepped them in time due to her accurate senses. The tune became more defined with each step she took as she beaconed it’s call. She could here it call to her through the white light. The auras of the hordes of people had changed into quieting white noise as the song grew more defined or she was probably focusing on it rather than the crowd.

She sensed that she turned a corner and entered a small alcove and stopped abruptly as she sensed someone sitting comfortably on the cold stone floor. On a small blanket she sensed small trinkets and toys gently brushed by the white light displayed on it. The strong presence before her seemed familiar and yet foreign at the same time. She could not explain it, but it felt safe. Safer than her dark and looming home and her grandparents looming dark presences. The song was still there but it was a happier tune then before, as if she was meant to be here. She whished that she could see the person, whose presence felt old, yet very wise. As she focused on him she barely felt that there was a second similar presence hidden behind a column. But as she soon as she felt it she stretched her senses out to that presence and was surprised at its sheer strong connection to the white light. They both were part of the white light. Just like her. That’s why they felt so familiar! Moved by her realization she gasped, her knees buckled, and she need in front of the blanket.  She wasn’t alone. She was no freak of nature. There were two individuals like her. She felt the presences mustering her curiously, just as inquisitively as she did.

“What’s your name, little one?” the first and elderly presence asked her heavily accented and with a deep raspy voice which spoke of infinite wisdom to her.

“I’m not little, I’m six years old.” She protested jokingly, and the man laughed. “Cassandra, My name is Cassandra Persephone Malfoy” She answered shyly and asked back:” What’s yours?” feeling the second presence stepping out from his hiding place behind the column and turned her head towards it.

The first presence chuckled, and Cassandra liked that sound very much and smiled at him.

“Noor R'aya, is my name youngling.” The first presence answered with hoarse voice.

“Noor R’aya.” Cassandra repeated the foreign name while meeting slight difficulties pronouncing it exactly like the man had. “That’s an interesting name.” she stated. “Where are you from?”

“A long way from here, little one.” Noor R’aya answered mysteriously. “I go where the currents of the Force take me.”

“So, you’re a wanderer?” she enquired intrigued, but sensed that his answer was not complete or that he was insinuating something else.”

“In a way, I am, little youngling.” He chuckled. “In a way we all are.”

She frowned slightly as he seemed to be talking in riddles.

The second presence now had reached them, and Cassandra felt it studying her, and although she could not see them with her eyes, both presences emitted the same light within her as her cube or her favourite trees.

“Well, little Cassandra.” Noor R’aya begins and his voice changed slightly in pitch. All of a sudden, he seemed excited. But why? “Why don’t you choose one of my carved little trinkets or toys and I will give it to you as a gift.”

Cassandra breathed hard and protested. “No, but I can pay for it. It wouldn’t be right not to pay for it.”

“I can see that you can, little one” he calmly interjected “but I sense that you need a gift that comes from the heart. I want you to choose one as my gift for you.” Cassandra conceded. How this man knew that, she did not know, but maybe he was sensing it through the white light. Her parents gifted her and her brother with countless presents that were fashionable, but none that really came from their heart, although they meant well.

She faced Noor R’aya and focused her mind towards the little figurines and trinkets. She sensed a similar white light brushing them than the man who had invited her to choose one. She assumed that he had been the one carving them. Still facing him she let her left-hand hover the figurines and examined them.

“These are birds of some kind, are they not?” she enquired and Noor R’aya confirmed it gently observing her. This one is a bear. A cup, a panther, a cat, a wolf and a dog, a horse, a donkey, a snake.” She recoiled from that form as she remembered her grandfather’s long and scary pet snake, which he had apparently been gifted by the dark Lord himself and which to Cassandra’s perception radiated pure evil. 

“Little one?” Noor R’aya gently prodded and she shook her head. “I apologize.” She murmured. “Bad memory. She changed her hand and let her right-hand hover over the other side of the toys. “An elephant, a whale, a duck, a lion, a badger, a penguin, … What is that?” she asked mesmerized as she was unable to properly identify it.

“That’s a bantha.” Noor R’aya informed her.

She retracted her hand and still faced him but there was something else on the blanket and it seemed to emit the white light on its own. Just like her cube. “That’s no toy.” She stated still facing Noor R’aya. As she focused on it she pictured it just like her blue cube emitting. She repeated the same procedure she had become used to and delved into the white light asking it to open it. She perceived the similar familiar clicking as the edges rotated and expanded.

“She is strong in the Force.” The second, still unnamed presence, now squatting further down to her level, next to Noor R’aya, remarked with a deep strangely distorted voice in a foreign language, yet Cassandra could somehow understand it. It sounded like the language the female in her cube was speaking. Her focus slipped, and the edges retracted back to the hovering cube and he slumped back with a thud on the blanket.

“You just sounded like her.” She recalled in astonishment and repeated what the female in her cube was always repeating: “There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force. Did I pronounce it correctly?”

“Noor R’aya translated what she just had said for second presence in the foreign language before addressing her astonished. “You pronounce it correctly, little one. How do you know the mantra? Like whom did Master Plo Koon sound?” he enquired curiously.

“You did too. Your language, I’ve heard it before.” Cassandra informed them. “I can also somehow understand it, but I don’t know how.”

She grabbed her small bag from her side, which only she could open and pulled out her own cube, which she had always on her and presented it to the two interested men.

“She somehow can understand Basic, but she does not know how.” Noor R’aya told Plo Koon, who nodded in understanding and seemed to be deep in thought.

“You do not seem to be afraid of me.” He stated. “Some of your people would find my appearance … unattractive and terrifying.” Cassandra felt that he seemed to want to prove a theory.

She faced him with blank eyes and commented. “You do not seem unattractive or terrifying to me because I perceive the world differently. I don’t see with my eyes. I somehow see things with my mind. It’s still not accurate enough” She stopped shortly trying to find the proper words how to explain it while Noor R’aya translated her bit again.

“It’s more like sensing, that you are no danger to me or anyone here, because you are part of the same white light that’s guiding me since my accident… Or maybe even before that incident, even though I hadn’t been aware of it then.” she added confiding into two complete strangers about something that she had not even dared to voice to her family. But she felt that there was no harm in sharing this secret as Noor R’aya translated.

Plo Koon seemed to be more completive as if he remembered something, but Cassandra did not know what it could be. “Please, little one. Would you tell us more about the accident?” he invited her sitting down next to Noor R’aya.

Cassandra mimicked him changing her position from a kneeling one to a sitting one on the old cobble stones and took a deep breath gathering her thoughts. She had never shared her experience of this terrible accident with everyone as it wasn’t spoken about in her family anymore. She still had night terrors about it even though the physical after effects had finally worn off a few month ago.

“It happened on New Year’s Eve, because my parents didn’t listen to me.” She began. “I knew that something bad was going to happen, but nobody believed me. They never listened when I knew that something was about to happen.”  She paused letting Noor R’aya translate as Plo Koon listened intently.

“How did you know that something terrible was going to happen?” he enquired. “Did you sense it, or did you see it?”

“That’s difficult to say.” Cassandra wrung her hands. “As soon as I heard my mother announcing the ball, I immediately felt nauseated and danger. Then I always had those recurring dreams. At first, I only saw it far away, as if seeing it through thick smoke or fog. No, I heard waltz music horribly distorted, a horrific scream that was tearing through my bones and waves of pain lancing through me. Then I usually woke. But this continuing dream did not just come to me in my sleep. It also came to me during the most unfortunate times. Usually when my focus slipped from whatever I was doing at that moment. All I knew was that I didn’t want it to happen.”  Cassandra stopped gathering her breath again as her chest constricted. Noor R’aya used her pausing to translate again.

“Breathe youngling.” Plo Koon beseeched her with his heavily distorted voice and she followed his instruction and took a deep breath and instantly felt better.

She waited until Noor R’aya finished his translation and continued her tale:” When the faithful evening came I did everything to evade the ball. I shredded my dress in hope that I would be beyond any repair and hid in the library, but my parents found me there and forced me to accompany them. After the greetings I nicked some tarts and managed to slip out unnoticed and hid in the library again, but it was to no avail. My foul grandfather found me first.” She shuddered heavily, gulped and continued. “But fortunately, he couldn’t do anything to me because father intervened in time. Father brought me back to ballroom and I panicked.” Cassandra started to hug herself in remembrance. She took another deep breath. “I heard it. The waltz heavily distorted and all I wanted was to run out of this crowded place but felt that I couldn’t move, two heavily inhibited dark friends of my father duelled in the room and I saw that my twin brother Draco was standing unprotected in the first row.” She gulped and tried to control her breathing and continued. Plo Koon stood up, stepped over the blankets with the wooden toys and trinkets and moved to swat down beside her sensing her distress and now gently laid his hand on her shoulder which felt comforting.

“Then everything happened so fast. The music was distorted, the people were moving as slowly as if they were somehow frozen in time and I saw a curse flying towards Draco. So slowly, but nobody was reacting towards it and I felt an undeniably strong urge to protect him and I don’t know how it happened, but I was suddenly next to him and pushed him aside and the curse hit me.” She closed her eyes, feeling tears stream down her cheeks in recollection and exhaled gripping her elbows.

“It hurt so much as if my body was torn in dozen directions while being repeatedly stabbed all over my body. I could not control my body any longer and my eyes were burning so badly. I just wanted the pain to stop. Everything became fuzzy around me and then I knew no more. When I woke up again I found out that I was blind.”

The four-fingered hand was patting her shoulder gently as he was now sitting next to her. “You are very strong. Young one.” Plo Koon remarked. “To think what you have endured at such a young age without falling to the dark side.”

“I don’t like the dark side. It’s destructive, dangerous like a viper ready to strike at any moment and foul.” She answered him and Noor R’aya translated for her and reminded Plo Koon, that she had spoken of her grandfather as a danger earlier, in Basic.

Plo Koon addressed her again. “Is your grandfather responsible for your blindness?”

Cassandra shuddered thinking about him. “Partially. He hates me for some unknown reason since the day I was born, and he has placed a curse on me without my parents’ knowledge. The ‘Miseriam maximam amplificatio’ curse. An ancestor of mine invented it centuries ago. It amplifies even the smallest misfortune or misery to drive people to eventually commit suicide, because of all the misery they are experiencing. Combined with the Cruciatus curse, which I was hit with, it caused my irreversible blindness. But grandfather is not the only dark one in the family.” Cassandra sighed. “Both my grandparents are, on both sides of the family, one of my aunts is a convicted death eater, who tortured countless innocents in the last wizarding war. I’m not supposed to know this because my parents tried to keep that from us, but I found out through my secret correspondence with my aunt, who had rebelled against our family.” Cassandra added quickly.

“And like my father most of his dark friends followed the same dark lord and I usually try to avoid them or their offspring. Their favourite game already is “Muggle hunting” and I can’t stand it.” Cassandra confessed with more tears streaming down her cheeks and Plo Koon patted her shoulders trying to calm her as Noor R’aya translated, but his focus seemed to slip and Plo Koon was turning as if following his colleagues gaze and Cassandra’s sense began to prickle. Danger was coming. She quickly took her own cube and put it back in her little bag. Not a moment to late it seemed as someone familiar turned the corner with readily raised wand.

“Cassandra.” She heard her mother’s shout come from behind her and she turned around, but she sensed her stopping in her tracks as she spotted her daughter comfortably sitting with two unfamiliar faces. One was an elderly human, but the second was clearly not. Her breath hitched as she saw the hooded figure sitting closely to her little sunshine. His four fingered claws on her shoulder, while Cassandra clearly had silvery streaks on her cheeks indicating that she had cried. Only Merlin knows what that creature would have done to her daughter, who naturally seemed unaware of the danger she was in. Additionally, to that she was sitting unladylike on the cold, dirty cobble stoned floor. It seemed that the etiquette training was not working as well as it should be.

“Get away from them!” Narcissa hissed angrily in Cassandra’s direction ready to pull out her wand, but Cassandra only calmly stood up, together with the two hooded figures.

“Mother, please calm down.” Cassandra implored her with both hands raised, but her parents did not listen to her. She heard her father snarling and heard the click of his walking stick, which meant that he had gotten his wand out and was about to attack the two men. She heard him whisper half a curse threw her hands up and shouted:

“No!” while drawing the white light towards her and pushing it through her and towards her father, who was catapulted back into Diagon Alley with force. She had not wanted him to hurt her two new acquaintances.

* * *

 

The blind youngling was dragged away from them by her mother, while the blond man, who had angrily tried to attack them had hissed angrily at her and the Kel Dor could sense that the patriarch was clearly seething and planned to give his child a piece of his mind.  Plo Koon could see that the entire family was well dressed and seemed to live an affluent live, yet contrary to her twin brother Cassandra seemed humbler. But he could not get the rid of the terrified sense the little girl had emitted into the Force after hearing that they would return immediately back to their house.

With a short nod towards Noor R’aya, he entered the door of the small house his retired colleague was now living in and activated the long-range communicator. It seemed that he had found the little girl Master Yoda had made a priority to find. The Grandmaster had even been able to shortly connect with the miraculous girl in the Room of thousand fountains, but it had been a mystery to the entire council how this had been possible. Yet in search of Force sensitive contenders, the Force had guided him here. It wanted the little girl to be found. He could sense that she was very strong in the force. She could be well be one of the strongest children he had ever brought to the temple and he was one of the more active recruiters. But how should he proceed as he doubted that the parents would want to give their child to the Jedi Order.

The connection was established, and he found himself confronted with the Grandmaster and his second in Command.

“Master Plo Koon. Your mission, successful it was?” Master Yoda asked him, and he nodded.

“Yes, I’ve encountered a young child, which is rather strong in the Force and which seems to fit your vague description, Master Yoda. He pulled out a data card and connected it with the holo- transmitter feed. I’ve recorded our encounter and will send it to. But I believe that extracting her from her family will prove challenging.” He informed them.

“You can only bring her to the temple if her family agrees to it.” Master Windu reminded the Kel Dor, who nodded in understanding.

“I will do my best. Masters, as you know this planet has a society of Force users and there was a war between the light and the dark side not more than a few years ago.” He told them. “The girl’s parents, walk among peers using the dark side. Her grandparents are dark force users, who according to the youngling are seeking to kill her, and they are part of the reason she was blinded. I believe that even if her parents decline letting her go, it might be the only chance to save her from the dark side. “Plo Koon told them. “She is terrified of them.”

“This is disconcerting.” Master Windu remarked clearly looking how far the transmission of the recorded feed already was. “We simply can’t take a child without the parents’ permission. It would be kidnapping.”

“I understand.” Plo Koon conceded and proceeded with his report. “She is six years old on this planet, quite strong in the Force and already utilizes it to make up for the loss of her sight. Prior to her accident she even experienced Force visions.”

“Force visions in one so young?” Yoda’s ears perked up. “Unusual that is.”

“Another curiosity we could find is that she understands basic but can’t speak it. Master R’aya and I believe that she may be able to understand it because she owns a Jedi Holocron. She even activated Master R’aya’s proxi holocron by accident and recited the Jedi code.”

“She owns a holocron?” Master Windu asked to clarify. “Do you know which Master it belonged to?”

“I do not.” Plo Koon answered and heard that the transmission of the meeting had been received by the Jedi Order. Master Yoda and Windu watched the interaction with interest and the little green Grandmaster smiled at what he was seeing. She was older than most children which were brought to the temple, but not yet too old, but the window would soon close for her if they did not bring her to the temple soon. On the other hand, they had inducted another child, which would have been considered too old to be trained, into the order not two days ago. But then, the Force had connected them, so maybe she was meant to be trained in the temple. She could share classes with the other child in the temple. One of the healers in the temple could take a closer look at her eyes. Just because her planet had no means of healing her, did not mean that it could not be cured here. If they were correct and she couldn’t be cured, she could also receive guidance from one of their masters who had been born blind.

* * *

 

Malfoy Manor:

“First, you ditch your mother because you follow some non-existent music and then you attack me! Me! Your own father!” Lucius thundered at his now crying daughter. “Do you have any idea what could have happened to you? Do you know how many people are trying to get back to me or our family?”

“No, I don’t.” Cassandra murmured with lowered head and tried to defend herself: “But you don’t understand, father. The two masters were no danger to me and you attacked them first.”     

“I defended you against them!” he thundered angrily but Cassandra shook her head.

“You are simply too naïve, Cassandra.” Narcissa stepped in before Lucius anger could get the best of him. He appeared more like his father when he was angry.

“I’m not naïve, mother.” Cassandra told her wiping her cheeks with her sleeve, knowing full well that it was unladylike, but she hated etiquette. “I could sense that they were no danger to me. They are like me. They are part of the white light.”

Narcissa’s breath hitched. _What white light?! Is Cassandra slowly sliding into madness?_ She took a deep breath. She was relieved that they had found her daughter, but it seemed that she was already drifting apart from them.

“How are they like you?” Narcissa asked strained. “You are from a distinguished family and those two, whatever they were, clearly weren’t. One of them wasn’t even human.”

“As I said. They are part of the white light. Just like me and we might be an old wizarding family, but that does not make us better than others. Masters Noor R’aya and Plo Koon felt safe. Definitely safer than being confined to the manor with two grazed and evil grandparents.” Cassandra ranted and felt her parents shock as she was clearly speaking against them believes.

“It seems that your education of the little brat is unfruitful.” The hoarse old voice coming from the door made the entire family jump. Cassandra shivered and every fibre in her body seemed to be on full alert. Heavy bilge rose from her stomach as she felt her grandfather’s long pet snake slither into the room behind her. It was radiating pure darkness and she wished to be back in Diagon Alley with the two Masters.

“This is not your concern, father.” Her father rebuked briskly.

“Yes, it is when the very name Malfoy is tarnished by one single girl and her mother. You should focus your attention on the heir of the house, not the extra child.”

Stepping towards Narcissa he scoffed. “No Malfoy wife ever needed or wanted to work. Your wife is overstepping her authority, Lucius.”

“Don’t insult my wife or my daughter in front of me again, father!” Lucius growled back angrily and stepped back when the large Python hissed dangerously at him. “Narcissa is working in St. Mungos to find a cure for Cassandra.”

“Wasted time.” The elder Malfoy snarled. “I believe it is time that your little daughter receives the right education now. You are far too lenient with her and I will not let her bring more shame on our house than she already has. I will henceforth take over her education.”

“No!” The entire family protested. “You won’t lay a single finger on her or you’ll wish to never have been born!” Narcissa hissed to her father in law while Lucius stepped in front of his daughter to protect her from his father’s and the snake’s wrath. She was trembling in fear and he took one of her small cold hands into his and squeezed it gently. He had been angry at her earlier, but there was no way that he would let his father get his clutches on his daughter. Only Merlin knows what he would do to her.

His father was smirking dangerously. “Ah, your little protective display is quite touching.” He mocked. “And pathetic. I just wanted to know that I’ve already asked the Wizengamot that her custody be transferred to me as you are clearly incapable of raising her properly. They will decide within the next three days.”

 

 

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

Everything was in motion. She could sense it. Danger. Danger everywhere. She knew her parents had fought with everything they had against losing her to that monster, but it had been to no avail. She had known that. Cassandra was panting heavily, her stomach churning. Pacing nervously in her darkened room. She needed to find a way out. The darkness was closing in with every step she took. It was suffocating her. She had to escape it. It would be her undoing. Her parents had until midnight to hand her over to her grandfather. He had gleefully informed them about it in the morning. In their panicked stated her parents had hastily tried to pack the most important things for them and her brother, only to find that all their properties were available to all Malfoys. And for some reason aurors had shown up to their manor to oversee her “transfer” to the other side of the manor.

Tick…tock…tick…tock…the pendulum of her clock was speeding up.

Tick…tock…tick…tock… Danger was creeping closer to her.

Tick…tock…tick…tock. She needed to get away.

Tick…tock…tick…tock. 120 seconds until midnight.

Tick…tock…tick…tock. _No. No. No! I need to get away!_

Draco was tiredly sitting on her bed, following her nervous pacing with his tired eyes. It was way past their bedtime. Her brother had tried to calm her down but given up. He could not sense what was she knew to come. But he had hugged her more often than usual today. Well, he wasn’t much of a hugger anyway. So, hugging her was unusual.

Tick…tock…tick…tock. Her doom was creeping closer. She needed to get away. Tick…tock…tick…tock. She could hear tumult outside of her door.

She knew that her parents had locked the door to make it harder for her to be taken. Cassandra could sense their racing heartbeats outside of the door. They were ready to put up a fight despite the aurors in their home. She couldn’t get away. There was no way outside. There was shuffling, screaming, cursing, heavy protesting and swishing and swirling outside of her door. Something heavy knocked against it. It shook heavily in its angles. Draco jumped up from her bed while she took a step back towards the balcony door. The light of little sapling outside her window was beaconing her towards it.

The darkness was closing in from all sides. But there was a way out. The pulsing light from her sapling on her balcony was edging her on to finally come closer. Guiding her out of the all swallowing darkness.

There was another sharp knock on her door. She could faintly hear the loud protests of her mother and … _no_. Both of her parents were putting up a fight to stop her grandfather from entering. Cassandra took another step towards the balcony door as she could sense her brother stepping in front of her after another thud against her room door. Another sharp thud that shook her door and the two young children jumped back. Cassandra could now feel the cold glass of her balcony door in her back. This was her way out. She cast her mind out asking the light for help. _Please help me_. It almost sounded as if somebody was answering her, but it could also have been her active imagination. Her mind conjured up the light of Plo Koon of reacting to her plea. What that meant she didn’t know.

Suddenly the door burst open. Draco shoved her further behind him taking a hasty step back as his grandfather entered grinning in triumph. Her parents were struggling and protesting heavily against the aurors holding them back.

“Get away from my daughter!” She hissed dangerously with a haunted look on her face,  several strands of hair had come loose.

“Draco get away from your sister!” her grandfather ordered her brother drawling.

Cassandra was checking with her left hand if she had her little bag with her, which contained her cube and searched for the door handle to the balcony as her brother did the most interesting thing.

“No! She’s my sister. I need her, and she needs me.” He shouted angrily at his grandfather stomping his right foot.

“Nonsense!” the oldest Malfoy snarled. “Nobody needs the little useless minx. She’ll hold you back and will live off our fortune like an impractical parasite.”

“Get away from her, father!” Cassandra could hear her father from the door struggling against his cuffs.

“I don’t give a fuss. She’s still my sister.” Draco stood his ground against their dark grandfather and her heart almost burst. This was the first time, that her brother stood up for her.

“Language Draco.” The dark one scolded him. “We do have company. The little parasite already poisoned your mind.”

Cassandra’s hand finally grasped the cold metal handle of her balcony door. It became clearer with each heavy heartbeat what she had to do. The light and the familiar melody from the sapling were communicating it to her. She somehow needed to reach the old tree in the part the dark ones could not enter. This was her way out.

She slung her right hand around her protective brother and hugged him tightly towards her. He didn’t seem to mind. “I love you, brother dear. Never forget that.” She whispered into his ear. He nodded but she could sense that he was confused. “Tell mother and father that I love them as well.” He nodded again never leaving the advancing dark grandfather out of his eyes.

She focused on the white light and concentrated at pulling it towards her. It responded and Cassandra felt how it ran through her, filled her every fibre of her body. Everything became more tangible around her. She could feel the pitch-dark soul of her grandfather, her terrified brother, her terrified, angry and worried parents, some dulled minds of some aurors, some dark minds of other aurors.

She quickly pulled the handle of her balcony door while letting go of her brother and opened it. She quickly dashed through and shut it closed. She could hear the angry roar of her grandfather as the balcony door closed seemingly on her own. His roar sounded heavily distorted and he seemed to be moving as if in time lapse. Not unlike the day of her accident. Turning around she quickly jumped onto the railing of the balcony and asked the whited light to help her. She could still feel the large distance between the railing and the garden lawn. But the light was guiding her. She knew it. Now she could hear the desperate wail of her mother. The balcony doors were slammed open and she took another deep breath and jumped when the calming light of the sapling connected the light with her. She could sense her fall, the light which filled her soul almost showed her the growing ground, the wet green grass of the night. She asked the light to slow down her fall and it seemed to answer. Suddenly her feet hit the ground, she felt a sharp pain in her ankle and quickly rolled to her side and fought to stand up again. She could hear her terrified screams of her parents, who were now standing over the railing. Her right foot did not comply at first, the pain was to strong. No, she would not sit here until her dark grandfather and his disciples would have caught up with her. She fought to stand up again and this time she ignored the sharp pain in her foot and limped towards her sanctuary, following the beaconing of the light. The large oak tree was calling her. It would protect her. She gritted her teeth as the pain was almost unbearable when she stepped on her foot.

There… she could detect a few plops behind her. They were apparating. No, no, no! They could not get her! Her heartbeat accelerated! She had trouble breathing.

“Get her!” a nearby voice said. They were almost upon her! _No!_ She wouldn’t be able to escape them! She needed to escape quickly. She quickly spun around, summoned the white light and quickly directed it towards her pursuers. Whatever she had done seemed to have worked. She heard their surprised exclamations and bodies hitting the wet grassy ground or landing on each other. They groaned. She turned back towards her destination and ignored the pain in her left foot. That pain was only secondary to the pain her grandfather would be able to inflict on her when he got his wretched hands on her.

There the hedges, she was almost there!

Nature around her was uncharacteristically silent. As if it was holding its breath to see what would happen to her.

“Get up you fools!” she could hear her grandfather’s angry voice. “She tries to escape! Nagini! Catch her!”

Cassandra almost froze. Where her grandfather’s wretched snake had come from so quickly was a mystery to her, but if that thing caught her, then it would be the end of her. She could sense it fast approaching, a large malice quickly slithering over the wet grass. The deadly hiss was coming closer! The white light engulfed her even more and she could swear that she became faster. There the large trunk engulfed in the white all-knowing light belonging to the large oak tree. She quickly ran towards it and threw herself in between the large roots and begged the light to defend her. It washed over her, almost drowning her in the large light. She could detect hundreds of whispers that tried to calm her, but there was something dark at the edge of this part. Her grandfather was screaming and fighting to break the white barrier, his snake doing the same. She could feel her fear and turmoil feeding the white light and helping her to stay save, it helped her to keep the barrier upright. Now nature seemed to awaken, storm, thunder and heavy rain was developing over the forest and quickly spread over her and added to the protected barrier.

“Help on the way is, youngling!” the light from the large oak tree seemed to tell her, but she could not help but imagine a small old green creature speaking those words. Yes, she needed help. Exhaustion was washing over her, the white light was protecting her, but for how long? Her heart continued to race as if it would jump out of her jest at any moment. Her breath was shallow. Her foot was pulsating. The pain grew stronger. No, she could not let go of the white light. It was her protection. She vaguely recognized that more people had joined the dark ones on the outside of the light barrier. Her parents must have freed themselves and were now duelling some of the dark ones, while her grandfather and other dark ones were fighting to break her barrier. She could hear their snarling efforts.

 _Help is on the way?_ Who would come to save her? Suddenly she became aware of movement from the forest. A light creature was coming towards her. A familiar light. She had met him in Diagon Alley! She sobbed in elation. He would save her! He could take her away from this wretched place. She would live among her own. The light presence was carefully kneeling next to her and put his hand protectively on her shoulder. Cassandra could not help but hug him tightly. Tears were streaming over her cheeks. “Please take me with you! Please!” She begged him hugging him tightly. “He’s going to kill me!” The man might not have understood her verbally, but she could sense him assessing the situation.

“You draw upon the Force to hold them back.” She could hear him say in the strange language. “Do you want to leave this place with me?” he asked her, and she nodded hoping that he could understand it.

And it seemed he did. “Then come with me little one.”

He lifted her up into his arms, shortly turned towards the barrier and walked towards the woods with her. Cassandra was crying with relief. Somewhere behind her she could here her mother scream for her in desperation, and she wanted to tell her that she was safe now, but she knew that she couldn’t do that now. Perhaps she could return one day and explain it to her properly. But now was not the time for that. She could sense that they entered the forest. Several trees, each of them showing the white light in them. It was almost as if she could see again.

“You are safe, little one.” Her saviour told her soothingly as he was carrying her away. All the tension was slowly fading away and the rocking movement as he was carrying her was slowly rocking her to sleep. She had trouble keeping her eyes open as she leaned against him. _I’m save!_ Was the last thing she could think before she drifted off. Master Plo Koon chuckled when he realized that his young charge had fallen asleep during their walk through the Force sensitive forest. It amazed him. The Jedi Order had believed to have saved the last Force sensitive trees, yet here on this remarkable planet he had been drawn to an entire forest of Force sensitive trees. And they seemed to be intact. The little youngling must have grown up in the close vicinity of those trees. He put the little youngling into one of the sleeping cots and put a blanket around her. She may not have known, but she had instinctively drawn upon the Force to protect her. The council might have ordered him to ask for the permission of her parents to take her away, but he had seen that this had not been an option any longer. Something had changed within the last three days. He had seen how desperate they had fought the dark siders, who had tried to get to the little youngling. The Force had ordered him to take her with her. She had been in severe danger.

He felt the engines start and his little cruiser lift off the ground. It seemed that Master Noor R’aya didn’t take any chances. They were deep in the Unknown Regions. A very small system that had been detected by Master Fay by chance many years ago. It would take a couple of weeks before they would reach the core. Enough time to teach the little girl the basis of the galactic language. But first, he needed to take care of her broken foot.

* * *

 

Narcissa felt drained and exhausted. A part of her was missing. Her little sunshine was missing. She had long run out of tears. Her husband was sitting opposite her in Cassandra’s room. He had cried heavily as well and was now sitting on a chair cradling their son, who had fallen asleep on his lap. StreamHer heart had stopped, when she had seen Cassandra jump and shortly elated when she had realized that her little sunshine had survived the normally deadly jump. But she must have injured herself as she had limped towards her sanctuary. It was their fault that she was gone. They should have fought harder to keep custody. But she also knew that they had exhausted every avenue. Her father in law just had better connections everywhere. Lucius had screamed in fright as well when Cassandra had jumped, and Draco had been stunned. How had she survived that jump? She couldn’t wrap her head around it. When she had been able to free herself, she and Lucius had followed the aurors in order to help their little sunshine. When she had realized that her father in law had unleashed his deadly snake, she had almost fainted at the idea of that creature getting her fangs at Cassandra, but her daughter had surprised her again. She had become quite fast, almost hard to see with her eyes and she had blocked the entry to her sanctuary somehow. The snake had wailed after hitting an invisible barrier. The aurors had shot spell after spell at it, but to no avail. All the spells had rebounded. The snake had not dared to breach the barrier again and hissed angrily at seemingly nothing. She and Lucius had used the temporary distraction of the Aurors and her father and law to take as many of them down in order to get their daughter and flee the country. Something that they should have done in the first place. Of course, they wouldn’t have had any assets that they could use, but at least they would have had both of their children. They would have made do somehow. But all of that had been in vain when she spotted movement coming from the untameable forest towards her little sunshine. She had managed to down a few Aurors, but unfortunately not all of them. Her divided attention had cost her as she had been hit with several cutting curses, that her husband hat nursed later. That thing, that creature, Cassandra had encountered in Diagon Alley had taken her and her little sunshine hadn’t even protested. It was forever ingrained in her brain how her daughter had looked up to it and hugged it. Now she was lost to her forever. Escaping one horror only to fall into the hands of another horror. What would they do to her? She had no idea what creature that thing had been, but she knew that it couldn’t be good.  It wasn’t human and it could force Merlin knows what to do. It had carried her away. Her family was shattered and darkness creeping in. She still had Draco, but the way he had cried and called out to his sister made it clear to her, that he felt like he had lost another part of himself. Magical twins always had some sort of connection. She knew that.

She would make sure that her son was protected as best as she could. Especially from all those dark influences. She also feared for the sanity of her husband. He cherished both of their children, but he could be his father’s son. That meant that he could be tempted to dabble in dark and dangerous forbidden magic in order to find his daughter. He could try to fill his emptiness using dark magic and could be further drawn into it and in so doing endanger what was left of his own family.

* * *

 

He was seething. The little brat had escaped him. His masters charge Nagini was hurt and several Aurors had woken from the imperius curse when they had fallen against that invisible barrier his little grand-daughter had created. He had to grudgingly admit, that it had been an impressive display of power, but that little escaped girl was a liability to his plans. He would have loved to break her down into a small submissive little girl, that he could have married off to the highest bidder. After all the list of contenders had been a rather long one. She would have been good business.

He was regarding his favourite ornamented lamp in pyramid shape as it was glowing in pulsating red. It was radiating malevolence and he adored every second of it. There was something inside, he knew, but he had never been able to figure out how to open it. But one day he would and then he would become more powerful. His little grand daughter might have escaped him for now, but she wouldn’t been able to hide from him. He would find her.

* * *

 

“You mean to tell us that you took the youngling without the parents’ consent?” Master Windu said with an edge in his voice.

“It was unavoidable.” Master Plo Koon answered. “She was in severe danger and her parents wouldn’t have been able to protect her. There was no time to ask for their permission. She begged me to take her away.”

“The will of the Force it was.” A new voice joined them and Plo Koon saw Master Windu jump just as the order’s Grandmaster joined him in the hologram.

“Sense her fear, I could. Threat to her life, imminent it was. Exhausted she is, I believe.” The wise master said sadly.

“That is correct, Master.” Plo Koon told them. “She has used the Force instinctively to save her life, but she has injured herself. Her foot was broken when I found her. And yet she managed to make her way to the oldest Force sensitive tree. It helped her drawing the Force to protect herself from the dark force users trying to get to her. I believe she grew up in close vicinity to the forest containing Force sensitive trees. The large tree stood out from them like a beacon. That was how I could find her.”

“Fascinating.” Mace Windu mused. “I’m looking forward to seeing the little youngling.”

Master Yoda smiled kindly and inclined his head. It seemed that he was also curious to meet the little girl.”

“Master R’aya and I will begin to teach her Basic so that she will be prepared to answer all your questions when we arrive.” Plo Koon informed them.

“We’ll make preparations as well.” Master Windu told them.

Obi-Wan just had dragged his new Padawan up from the lower levels of Galactic City where he had taken part in an illegal garbage pit race and almost been killed. The healers had made some fuss about it, but he just wanted to make sure that his Padawan was uninjured. He had observed that other Padawans where avoiding Anakin, which wasn’t making it easier to help him adjust.

He spotted Master Windu enter the wing and greeted him with a short nod wondering if the council had already found out about his Padawan’s little adventure, but the other Master addressed the Head healer.

“We will get a new youngling in a few weeks’ time.” He informed him. “She is about six standard years old and comes from a planet still unknown to the rest of the galaxy. They have not yet mastered building hyperdrives.”

The healer noted. “She will need the full inoculation program then?”

“Yes, it is very doubtful that she has any natural resistance towards any common viruses we are regularly exposed to.” Master Windu nodded. “There is something else.”

“Another health issue?” the healer asked.

“The youngling has lost her eyesight due to a dark force incident. Nobody has been able to heal her.”

“Does she need guidance on how to navigate without it?” the healer asked noting the information down.

“No, according to Master Plo Koon she uses the Force to walk without incident. She recognized Master Koon and R’aya as Force users like her among others as she ‘saw’ the force which she called white light.”

“Fascinating.” The healer mused.

“That seems to be the latest favourite new word among our order.” Mace Windu stated dryly which had the healer chuckling.

Obi-Wan could sense his Padawan’s excitement at the news. He wouldn’t be the only new addition to the order. Perhaps the new arrival could take some of the heated attention away from him.

* * *

 

Daily Prophet:

_Family drama ends in tragedy_

_Last night a fierce custody battle ended with the tragic death of one Cassandra Persephone Malfoy. Due to reasons unknown Abraxas Malfoy and his wife found the education of their Grand-daughter, Cassandra Malfoy insufficient and asked for the custody of their much loved grand-daughter, which his son Lucius Malfoy and his wife Narcissa Malfoy declined. This tragedy follows an accident which left the poor girl without her sight. This were their statements shortly after the end of the trial that ensured custody being transferred to the elder Malfoy._

_“My son and his wife are unfortunately incapable to raise a mentally and later physically challenged girl.” Abraxas Malfoy tells the press. “I wanted to support them by taking the girl of their hands. The fact that her accident in which she lost her precious eye sight proves my position and I’m glad that the Wizengamot agreed with me.”_

_“I will certainly not allow a vile and dangerous man like my father-in-law get custody of my daughter!” Narcissa Malfoy, healer in training in St. Mungos counters his version. “My daughter is not mentally challenged. On the contrary she was reading Vergil’s Aeneid in the original version, when her accident happened. She wouldn’t even gone blind had Abraxas not cursed her beforehand.”_

_Lucius Malfoy has even harsher words for his father. “He does not deserve the title of father or grandfather after continuously endangering both of my children. If he tries to take them away, then I will not be accountable for my actions. My children stay with my family!”_

_Our sources within Magical Law enforcement informed us that the transfer did not go as planned as both parents fiercely fought against the transferral. It was said that even the Malfoy Heir Draco Malfoy tried to protect his sister but was unable to do so. Our sources lament that they could not act sooner to pacify this conflict which has cost an innocent life. Shortly, after Midnight Cassandra Persephone Malfoy jumped to her death from the family’s balcony._

_We wish the family strength and Fortuna’s blessings so that they can move past this tragedy._

_Rita Skeeter_

 Andromeda Tonks snakingly let go of the Daily Prophet. She was fighting hard to keep her tears at check. When her little niece had reached out to her, she had been overjoyed and had loved to converse with her via owl post. The purebloods had managed to destroy another precious life. She hated them for it. Her little niece had been an innocent, but everything the Malfoys touched turned to ashes. She decided that she would keep a closer on things to come and reach out to her sister. Yes, they were not allowed to talk with each other, but Narcissa was still her sister and she was probably lonely in her grief. She would need her support and she would gladly give it to her. Andromeda summoned parchment and a pen and started to formulate her letter to her grieving sister. It wasn’t easy to find words, but slowly the letter grew. After a long while she finished it and sent it off with shaking hands. Only then she allowed herself to give into her own grief and mourn the little girls passing.

 

 

 


End file.
